THE National Development Co. (NDC), a government investment arm, said it has signed an agreement with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) to support the green transition of small businesses.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), GGGI — a treaty-based international, inter-governmental organization — will provide technical vocational education training, technical assistance, and advice to Philippine micro, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), particularly startups in the NDC investment pipeline.
“We want to support the Philippine government to identify the priorities,” GGGI Country Representative Marcel Silvius said at the signing ceremony on Wednesday.
He added that the GGGI is also aware that Philippine companies need to be given latitude and time to become more environmentally compliant.
The GGGI aims to foster sustainable economic growth in developing nations and emerging economies. It offers non-financial grants and provides technical and expert financial advice in waste management, recycling, and achieving circular-economy norms.
Under the MoU, once the trained startups mature to commercial viability and qualify for scaling and expansion, they will be endorsed to the NDC for possible equity investment.
NDC General Manager Antonilo D.C. Mauricio said that the partnership aims to help with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) compliance efforts.
“The environment is part of the priority investment areas of NDC, along with health, technology and construction … We are looking at GGGI to explore synergies with us for the pipeline of companies in the green sector (that could) be funded in the earlier stages,” Mr. Mauricio said.
According to Mr. Mauricio, the NDC and GGGI are aiming to build potential parallel ESG funding for early-stage companies, help MSMEs and startups in the calculation of their carbon offset, and establishing a carbon-credit trading mechanism.
“The MoU signing marked a key opportunity for NDC to tap into the technical expertise and assistance that could be offered by GGGI — with an overall thrust for signing — on more green-based startups,” the NDC said. — Justine Irish D. Tabile
